Page 21 of Jingle Bell Jilt
“Christmas Eve? That’s brutal.”
I nod. “Yeah. My dad didn’t want to have to take off work, once the holidays were over.”
“Oh,” she whispers beside me. “I’m so sorry, Evan.”
I shake my head, finally able to pull my eyes away from the angel. “It’s okay.” I sigh all my emotions away. It’s a lot easier to do after two years. “It was a long time ago.”
“What happened to the angel?” It’s like she can tell there’s more to the story that I haven’t mentioned.
I lift one shoulder. “I don’t know. My dad packed everything up and sent it to Goodwill.”
She gasps beside me. “Oh my heck. How could he do that?”
I turn on her, ready to bark out a harsh reply. She has no right to judge my dad. Only I can do that because I’ve earned the right. But the tears in the bottom of her eyes stop it on my tongue.
“That had to be so hard. I can’t even imagine.” She swallows and turns toward the end of the aisle. “Hey, do you want to get out of here?”
I nod. I don’t think I can get out of here fast enough.
We walk quickly to the register and the lady smiles at us. “Is this all for you today?”
We both nod.
She smiles wider. “Are you sure?”
Shay looks back at me and I nod. “Yep,” she says. “This is it.”
The woman looks slightly disappointed. I’ve never thought of Mrs. Claus as someone who would push her wares on you, but apparently she’s a true capitalist. She sighs. “Very well. Shall I gift wrap this for you?”
Shay shakes her head. “No. It isn’t a gift. It’s for me.”
Mrs. Claus rings up the ornament and we’re finally on our way out. As I put my hand on the door, Mrs. Claus calls out. “Wait! You can’t leave without kissing under the mistletoe.” She points to the ceiling above us.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Mistletoe? How had I not seen that coming?
We both look up slowly and then at each other. “We don’t have to,” Shay whispers. “She isn’t the boss of us.”
I feel my lips curve upwards and a laugh bubbles out. “I kind of think she might be.”
Shay looks seriously at me. “I know you want to get out of here. We really can just go.” She lifts her hand to push on the door, but her hand lands on mine which is already there.
Is she doing this just for me? Or does the idea of kissing someone other than Nathan not sit well with her?
“Come now, don’t be shy. Just kiss your girl.” Mrs. Claus waves her hands at us. Is she shooing us into a kiss? “If you’re that embarrassed, I’ll turn away.” She says, annoyance lacing her voice. Okay, so maybe she isn’t exactly like Mrs. Claus.
I look down at Shay. She holds my eyes, and I can see she’s feeling a bit of trepidation too. Why do I feel like this is a major turning point in my life? It’s a stupid mistletoe kiss.
I push down all the jumpy, tingly nerves zinging over my skin and in my stomach. It’s not a big deal. I can give her a quick, grandma-style kiss and bing, boom, bam we’re back in the car.
I lean forward and brush my lips across hers. Oh, man. This feels nothing like kissing my grandma.
CHAPTERNINE
SHAY
Ifreeze as Evan’s lips brush across mine. It’s so quick, and yet I can honestly say I’ve never been affected more. My lips tingle and warmth seeps slowly through my core and into my limbs.
Feather-light kisses aren’t supposed to be like this. They’re supposed to be forgettable. The move-along-there’s-something-else-to-do kind of kiss. And yet, we both stand here, just staring at each other.
